Winter school uniforms for pupils in Suntakhan
November 19, 2019
Akasha Academy NGO together with its German partner organization Long Yang e.V. could again organize the purchase and distribution of warm school uniforms in November 2019.
From November onwards, it can get freezingly cold in the Kathmandu-valley, especially in the night. In the winter season warm clothing is essential to stay healthy which, unfortunately, cannot be taken for granted for most of the children in Suntakhan.
Akasha Academy NGO together with its German partner organization Long Yang e.V. has already supported students of the Sri Suntakhan School with providing winter school uniforms in the recent years. Thanks to a donation of the German Regine Sixt Kinderhilfe Foundation, the Akasha Academy NGO could again organize the purchase and distribution of warm school uniforms in November 2019.
School uniforms often are the only winter clothes
With more than 450 pupils, the Sri Suntakhan Seconday School is the biggest public school in Suntakhan. Recently, a second building was constructed to host the growing number of students. As there is no tuition fee, many children of poor families visit public schools. These children usually do not have any other winter clothes apart from their school uniform which they therefore wear throughout the whole winter season.
The ceremony accompanying the distribution
The distribution of the school uniforms was accompanied by a ceremony which became already a tradition for this event. This year, the ceremony took place on the same day as the opening of the second school building. A member of the ministry of education and the mayor of Suntakhan held speeches at the beginning of the ceremony to which also members of the Akasha Academy NGO and the Long Yang e.V. were invited.
After some enthusiastic speeches, the pupils were asked to line up according to their grade level to receive the school uniforms. As soon as the first school uniforms were handed over, the crowd became a colourful mess of laughing and fighting children putting on, taking off and exchanging the new uniforms. Some effort was necessary to convince the pupils to gather for a group picture.
Further steps
Due to different activities in the recent years, a good relation to the local schools in Suntakhan has been built up. Akasha Academy NGO and Long Yang e.V. are already preparing further projects: With the start of the Basic Health Counsellor training for young women in the region, a number of workshops about basic health (hygiene, nutrition, and women’s health) are planned.